Today's workplace looks radically different from the job site of five years ago. There are noticeably fewer employees in most U.S. workplaces because so many employees are working from home or "off-site." Those who are physically present are often "looking away" from their peers, supervisors and even customers or clients because they are communicating electronically: by computer, cell phone, or Blackberry. The 2009 employee is unlikely to consider his or her employer as a long-term "partner" in personal career advancement. Rather, working for any particular employer is more often seen as a "resume-building" step: gaining new skills, enhancing one's credibility in the marketplace, and, of increasing importance to American workers, being able to count on a good employer-sponsored health insurance plan.
Given these and other radical workplace changes, how should you manage the "new worker" of 2009? At Holstein Kremer, we provide employment law advice, counseling and training to many employers in professions as varied as publishing, medical clinics, banks, manufacturing and insurance conglomerates, and for companies ranging from fewer than ten employees to those employing thousands of workers. In our experience, good employers benefit from these management tips:
1. Take Notes: When an employee discipline problem erupts, the emotional effect is often so unsettling that a manager believes he or she "will never forget this moment." Because it is so unpleasant, the "moment" in fact evaporates, and the employee is the only person who writes down what happens. Factual accounts - not the manager's opinions - provide the most useful information for tracking employee progress.
2. Educate Your Supervisors: Effective and consistent training is key to making managers and supervisors feel confident in their jobs. Remember that the "supervisory" portion of someone's job is generally not their favorite part - but it's probably the hardest part. Being able to influence, motivate, and persuade other human beings to follow one's direction is not an innate skill for most of us. That is why management training is more aptly labeled "Leadership Training."
3. Revise Your Policies: Few areas of the law change as rapidly as employment law. Managers resist the pressure of being responsible for knowing what is "legal" in the workplace, yet they expect and deserve to be kept apprised of what might "get them in trouble." The most effective way to communicate that kind of information is through the company's written personnel policies, which should be periodically reviewed and rewritten to comply with the law.
4. Reward Good Thinkers: Remember the days of the "suggestion box"? Those employees - including managers and supervisors - who are so engaged in their jobs that they think of solutions to work problems during their "off-time," are invaluable. These people deserve reinforcement and recognition for thinking like "owners." The best employers for these kinds of creative people are those secure enough to make room for good thinkers, and flexible enough to listen.
5. Pull the Plug When the Bathtub's Overflowing: Many clients are hesitant to terminate an employee with a documented record of poor performance, bad attendance, harassing or abusive behavior toward co-employees, and so on. Such hesitancy is more than understandable in the legal and regulatory environment all U.S. employers face. Yet the effect of continuing to employ a worker who so negatively affects (and infects) the workplace and the morale of everyone else is incalculable. Productivity suffers in many ways. Such a situation can truly be an "overflowing bathtub" only curable by "pulling the plug," an admittedly indelicate description for an act no one ever wants to do, but one that every supervisor will most likely face: terminating a worker's employment for performance-related reasons.
In 2009, our goal is that you never get to the "overflowing bathtub" stage. We hope you find these tips helpful, and that by following them you achieve a productive, and ultimately much happier, workplace. © 2009 Linda L. Holstein, Holstein Kremer, PLLC.
